Winter can sometimes be a good time to see what is growing in your yard. Check out this great BYGL Alert to read all about it! Go out to your yard during this warmer spell and see what you find!
Can you take clear images? Check out this cool app that is your one stop for identifying insects and plants! iNaturalist App
By Marcus McCartney, OSU Extension Educator, Washington County
How do you define “Victory” as a gardener?
Whether you are new or an experienced gardener, how do you personally define success as it relates to your garden? New gardeners may define success as simply starting a garden for the very first time. The initial effort and time invested defines success for them. Maybe it’s eating the very first fruit or vegetable you grew entirely by yourself (self-fulfillment). For our experienced gardeners, maybe victory or success is defined as successfully growing a new variety or species, or reaching a certain poundage of potatoes or tomatoes, or canning 15 dozen jars of green beans or salsa. However, you define victory, it’s important set goals and try to reach those goals. If you met your 2021 gardening goals, kudos to you and I tip my hat! If not, then it’s fun and important to troubleshoot and figure out why or what went wrong which lead to not meeting your goals. For me, my personal gardening goals were different this year than years past. I’ll explain how I defined victory shortly, but first, what is a victory garden?
ODA and OSU Victory Garden Program
Victory Gardens originated during World War I as an answer to a serious food shortage. The idea was very successful, resulting in an army of amateur gardeners and serving to boost morale and patriotism. Although there’s no food shortage today, ODA and OSU Extension revived this effort to encourage people to plant seeds, realize the fruits of their labor, and share with others if inspired. Washington County was only one of 25 counties to receive vegetable seeds. Over 1,500 seeds were distributed in Washington County and Wood County WV this past spring by the OSU Extension office.
My Victory Garden
For my victory garden, I wanted to do something different and creative. I wanted to demonstrate that gardens can be a reflection of your imagination and do not have to be traditional squares or rectangles. Gardening is a healthy activity, but it should also be fun! Creating around gardening only encourages and empowers individuals to grow plants, tend to the Earth, and eat fresh tasty nutritious foods for themselves. From the first moment I started running rope and spray-painting lines in my backyard, these gardens already started to gather attention from neighbors and eventually the community. The effect of my effort encouraged others to try gardening using unique designs, and creating awareness about our OSU and ODA Victory Garden outreach effort.
For Scale – 55 properly spaced pepper plants were planted in the “H”
Victory Garden in Snow
How I do I define Victory
This year, the single most important factor which determine success or victory for me, was not growing plants or producing a large yield; it was growing the next generation of gardeners by developing an interest and enthusiasm for fruits and vegetables, and the appreciation of the amount of hard work it requires to produce such fruits and vegetables. My son, Allister, was involved from the start; from planning, to plowing, to planting, to watering, to harvesting, and to cooking. He wanted to be victorious just as much as I did. I gave him complete ownership of the garden and constantly reinforced the concept these were his gardens.
My victory was seeing my son’s smiling face selling his produce at the Rivers City Farmers Market, and the time we spent together as a family. We created lots of fun memories and hopefully these memories will grow into knowledge for my son, and just as important, spending time together with his dad. And that’s how I defined victory in 2021.
Allister McCartney (6) at his River City Farmers Market Stand – Allister’s Tomatoes & More (ATM)
Get Involved
We would love to hear about your garden victories! You can post your story and pictures in the comment section of this article on our OSU Extension Washington County Facebook page: facebook.com/OhioStateWashingtonCountyExtension
Be on the lookout in 2022 for free Victory Garden Seed samples in early spring. To inquire about receiving seeds, you can contact the office at 740-376-7431 or sign up to receive our OSU Horticulture email listserv. To sign up, please call the office or email Peggy Bolen at bolen.8@osu.edu.
About the Author:
Marcus McCartney is the OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator for Washington County. He has been with extension since 2014. Marcus received both his bachelor’s and Master’s degree from West Virginia University Agriculture Education
Hey Folks!
Join Timothy McDermott in this fun update of how his garden went along with some tips for what is left of the planting/growing season!!!
There is still plenty of time to get seeds in the ground so that you can enjoy some fresh veggies all year long.
Check out the awesome video and original post by clicking on the source below:
Original post by Timothy McDermott at 7:26am on October 7, 2021
Ladies and Gents,
The Urban Gardening Grant RFP is open. This is a chance to get some funding to support your garden. Make sure to read the application information carefully.
Grant applications are due by Friday October 29th, 2021
Check out the link below!
Source: 2021-2022 Urban Gardening Grant RFP is Open! | Growing Franklin
OSU Extension’s Food Preservation Team has posted webinar recordings on a variety of these topics from 2020 and 2021 at
https://fcs.osu.edu/programs/healthy-people/food-preservation/office-hours-recordings.
There are also two more 2021 webinars that people can tune into live:
Attendees can register for these webinars at https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4bOJPwZLSjmkL3SSYZybVg.
Hurry up and check them out!
As we continue to roll into late summer it has been so nice to see fellow Ohioan’s and their Ohio Victory Gardens that have been shared with us to date!
The Director of Ohio Dept. of Agriculture, the Dean and other leaders at the Ohio State University – College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and Extension have all been hard at work!
In July 2019, Franklin County Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs) sowed Victory Garden Seeds donated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and OSU Extension in 12 raised beds. Many who joined were novice vegetable gardeners who were excited to be able to grow for our community especially in a difficult year in which many of us were in enforced isolation due to Covid-19.
In 2021, Franklin County MGVs continue with an expanded plot in which the produce will be grown exclusively for food pantries. We work with community gardeners, including board members of Sprouting Spoons, a 501c3 non-profit organization promoting food security in Columbus, Ohio. We also hope to work with veterans who have expressed interest in our 18 raised beds and 7 in-ground rows.
Many of the seeds we sowed came from ODA donations earlier this spring. These included cool-season crops such as cucumbers, beets, radishes, and lettuces.
Gardening-related issues such as when to plant, when to fertilize, how to control pests, and what do the plants need to thrive are researched and information is shared with all participants.
As of the end of July, we have donated 277 pounds of produce to the Church of All People Free Store as well as Volunteers of America, which serves 63 male veterans. Church volunteers exclaimed “This is great! And we’ll be sure to get it to everyone right away! Thank you!” The veterans were “thrilled” and plan on coming to help work the plot. We look forward to making connections with so many more people through our simple act of growing to share.
Author: Yen Hanes
June- bearing strawberry plants are productive for several years if they are given the proper care. Plantings in a matted row system require renovation. Renovation is the process of removing the leaves of the plants and cultivating the aisle to reduce the width of the row of plants to 8” – 12”. There is no need to renovate June bearing plants that are in their establishment year (the year you plant them).
When do you renovate your plants?
In late June or early July after harvest had finished with your berries.
How to renovate
Mow or clip the leaves of your plants. Do this by setting a push mower or your garden tractor at the highest setting. The higher the setting the better. You do not want to injure or cut the crown of the plants.
In small planting situations you can use pruners to trim the leaves off the plant. Be sure to properly sanitize your pruners between each plant.
This picture is in the renovation process. The right side is what the beds looked like before mowing. The left side is mowed.
This is a picture of a mowed plant. Notice how the mower didn’t get all the runners? I go back through the rows with pruners and clip of the long stems.
Clean Up
After you have mowed or clipped your plants remove the clipped leaves from the bed by raking them up. Burn the leaves, do not compost these leaves. If the leaves have any disease and they are composted, you could put the disease back into the soil another time.
Finishing
Rototill or cultivate the aisles to maintain the proper plant spacings. It is very easy for a runner to get away from you and become a plant in your aisle. Tilling the rows helps to eliminate an unwanted messy bed. However, if you do not mind the messy bed look then leave those run a ways!!
Side- dress the plants with phosphorus (bone meal is goof source of phosphorus) to promote new growth and aid in winter hardiness. Be sure to water the fertilizer in after applying.
Winter Care
Cover the plants with straw before the fall frost and remove in spring when the weather starts to get warmer.
Sabrina K. Schirtzinger
Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources
OSU Extension, Knox County